Honorary Advisors & Coordinators

The Swallowtail and Birdwing Butterfly Trust benefits from the voluntary support of a number of Honorary Advisors and Coordinators. Learn more below.

Jonathan Barzdo

Jonathan is the Trust’s Honorary Advisor on CITES. He is currently the Deputy Secretary General of the Convention on Wetlands, Vice-President (and founder) of the Association of British Wild Animal Keepers, and a member of the UK Government’s Illegal Wildlife Trade Advisory Group. He was formerly the Chief of Governing Bodies of the CITES Secretariat and its Special Adviser on CITES Implementation. Jonathan lives near Geneva in Switzerland.

Sara Oldfield OBE

Sara is the Trust’s Honorary Advisor on Botany. Sara is a botanist and plant conservation expert. She is Co-Chair of the IUCN/SSC Global Tree Specialist Group, responsible for promoting and implementing projects to identify and conserve globally Red Listed tree species. Until February 2015, Sara was Secretary General of Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), leading this organisation for ten years. Prior to joining BGCI, Sara worked for a range of other conservation organisations. In 2016, Sara was awarded an OBE for the conservation of tree species worldwide. Sara lives in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK

Bill Page MSc

Bill is the Trust’s Honorary Advisor on Insect Rearing. He is a scientist with many years’ experience in rearing insects, including butterflies, moths, beetles and grasshoppers amongst many others. He has designed screen houses, laboratories and insectaries in various countries, and instigated a review of Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing butterfly when he was employed as Entomologist at the PNG Oil Palm Research Association, where he later became Director of Research. Bill lives in Faversham, Kent, UK

John R. Parnell PhD

John is the Trust’s Honorary Coordinator for Homerus Swallowtail Studies. He attended Imperial College, London, obtaining a B.Sc and a Ph.D. in Applied Entomology. His interest in the Homerus Swallowtail began as a Senior Lecturer in Entomology at the University of the West Indies, Jamaica. Later, he was Environmental Coordinator for the City of St. Petersburg, Florida. John has published several papers and videos on the Homerus Swallowtail. He is now retired, lives near Launceston, Cornwall, UK, and continues to visit Jamaica for butterfly research.

Prof. Dick Vane-Wright, Dr. scient. h.c, Hon FRES

Dick is the Trust’s Honorary Advisor on Butterfly Taxonomy. He became interested in butterflies on his 7th birthday. He joined London’s Natural History Museum as an assistant in 1961. From 1967 to 1984 he was in charge of the Museum’s world-famous butterfly collection. Following retirement in 2004 he has continued to publish original work on the history of entomology, evolutionary biology and butterfly taxonomy, and also studies worldviews, attitudes to nature and the conservation of biological diversity. Dick holds honorary positions at the Museum and both main universities where he lives, in Canterbury, Kent.

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Latest News

Two Master’s students, Susie Hills and Hamish Lillywhite are starting work on the conditions needed by the British Swallowtail and its foodplant, Milk-parsley, in East Anglia’s fens. Their projects are a direct result of our 2017 workshop, the first step in a partnership between SBBT and the University of East Anglia’s School of Biological Sciences.

John Parnell, a retired entomologist who developed a passion for the magnificent Homerus Swallowtail when he worked as a lecturer in Jamaica, has agreed to take up an honorary position spearheading SBBT’s work on the species. John joins the Trust as our vital conservation work to rescue the species continues.

SBBT is delighted to announce World Swallowtail Day, taking place this year on Sunday 9th June. All are welcome to register their local event or come to Wheatfen Reserve in Norfolk for the global launch. Reserves, zoos, butterfly houses and botanical gardens worldwide will join hands to celebrate swallowtails and birdwings and help us to promote conservation projects.

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OUR APPEAL

Swallowtails and birdwings are beautiful and graceful butterflies – who wouldn’t love to see them dancing in the sunlight or sipping nectar from wildflowers? But many species are under threat from agriculture, forestry and climate change. We have ideas, enthusiasm and a vision for the future. Will you help us to achieve our goals?

GIVING

Financial contributions are welcome and will be treasured. We also need your ideas, new information, suggestions and encouragement!